Postcrossing Blog

We have some amazing news to share: 2024’s Cards for Literacy campaign broke all records!!! 🎉 It’s an impressive result and one we couldn’t be more proud of. Here are the details:

That’s a lot of postcards and a lot support for literacy — thanks to all of you!

Every single postcard sent during the campaign didn’t just spread joy to its recipients, but also helped make reading more accessible to kids, teens, and even adults learning German. Stiftung Lesen does amazing work, and we’re so happy that this donation will help them continue their mission. Here’s a short statement they sent us:

"Greater focus must be placed on early childhood education and reading promotion to enhance educational equity and equal opportunities in Germany in the long run. Reading is not just a hobby – it is the foundation for academic achievement and a thriving professional career. To achieve this, daycare centers must also be strengthened as key educational institutions. Daycares are far more than just childcare facilities; they lay the foundation for children´s educational journeys.

Moreover, we need more volunteers to support reading promotion efforts. We need dedicated individuals willing to volunteer in daycares, schools, and local initiatives to introduce children to reading at an early age and ignite their enthusiasm for it. With increased financial resources for reading promotion, strong projects can be implemented long-term and thus have a lasting impact. This applies not only to daycares and schools but also to the work of Stiftung Lesen.

The Postcrossing charity campaign #CardsforLiteracy raised an impressive €14,221.30 to support reading promotion and, ultimately, the future of our children. This campaign is a powerful example of how small gestures can have a big impact. Every postcard counts – not only as a personal message but also as a valuable contribution to fostering literacy skills. We sincerely thank everyone who takes part in this initiative and helps make a difference!"

A huge shoutout to Deutsche Post as well, for making this possible year after year! And as an extra thank you, they’ve randomly selected some lucky participants to receive vouchers for their online shop — so if you joined in, keep an eye on your inbox!

To everyone in Germany who sent postcards this past December and also those worldwide who registered them in the past three months: thank you! This campaign wouldn’t be the same without you. Keep spreading the postcard love and helping make the world a more literate place!

It’s that wonderful time of the year again when postcards become more than just a happy surprise in your mailbox — they transform into books and help for those who struggle with reading! We’re excited to kick off the 12th edition of the “Cards for Literacy” campaign, celebrating over a decade of partnership with Deutsche Post and helping many people in Germany improve their literacy skills throughout all these years. Let’s keep this December tradition alive and thriving!

If you’re in Germany, it’s time to organize your stationery and make sure you have all the postcards and stamps you need! Every card you send in December (and that’s registered by February 28, 2025) will contribute to this meaningful cause.

As if making a difference weren’t rewarding enough, you’ll also have a chance to win some neat prizes: one €100 voucher and five €50 vouchers for the Deutsche Post Online Shop. The more cards you send, the more chances you’ll have to win. In March 2025, Paulo will tally the total number of postcards sent and funds raised, and the lucky winners will be randomly selected and announced. Last year, we raised an incredible €12,078.30 for Stiftung Lesen, all thanks to your efforts!

If you’re outside Germany, you’re still an essential part of the campaign. By registering the postcards you receive from Germany quickly, you help senders mail their next cards sooner, keeping the momentum going.

Stiftung Lesen continues to do vital work improving literacy for children, adolescents, and refugee families learning German. Literacy skills can open doors and change lives, and we’re honored to support their mission.

And now, all that is left to do is for us to come together and make the 12th year of this campaign truly special. Whether you’re sending or registering postcards, every small action adds up to something extraordinary!

P.S. Postcrossing respects your privacy and will not share your personal information. Full details of the campaign can be found here (in German).

Did you notice that the 2023 campaign of Cards for Literacy with Deutsche Post had one extra day for postcards to arrive this year? 😍 While a single day might not make a huge difference*, all of these postcards together are undoubtedly going to have a meaningful impact in a lot of people’s lives! Here’s how the campaign went this year:

What a great result this is! Well done, everyone! There’s so much promise in these numbers… so much good that can come from improving a person’s reading skills — and thus their whole outlook in life!

As always, a huge thank you to Deutsche Post, for partnering with the Postcrossing community and making this possible. We’ve now been running this campaign together for 11 years, if you can believe it, helping fun Stiftung Lesen on their various programs and research projects. We usually think of children when we think of reading problems, but did you know that there are about 6,2 million adults in Germany who cannot read properly? It’s hard to overstate how important this skill is in everyday life — from progressing in a career to living an independent life, it all starts with reading. So it’s important that those who need help improving their reading skills can receive it, and Stiftung Lesen and its partners are there to help.

And now, to wrap things up, Paulo run his script and randomly choose 6 winners to receive vouchers for the Deutsche Post shop. The winner of the big €100 voucher is Feuermaus99, and the five winners of the €50 vouchers are kuchenfee, Tazzdevil, Thekilein, Kamila_Dawid and Morle-Maus .Congratulations! 🎉 You’ll receive an email from us shortly!

(*) 140 postcards were registered on February 29, so not that few! 😊

It’s that joyous time again — the season when Postcrossing postcards become beacons of hope and support! This year, we’re thrilled to mark the 11th anniversary of our cherished collaboration with Deutsche Post. A whole decade plus one has zipped by, during which many people in Germany have honed their literacy skills with the help of our united efforts. Hurray!

For our seasoned postcrossers, this will be a familiar recap, but let’s bring our new members up to speed:

That’s the essence of it! If you’re in Germany, now is the perfect moment to stack up on postcards and stamps to be ready for the month ahead. Once December arrives, every card you send within the month (and is received by the end of February 2024, which next year has one extra day!) will contribute to this noble cause. But wait, there’s more – your postcards could also be your ticket to winning these nice prizes:

• 1 voucher worth €100, to use in Deutsche Post Online Shop
• 5 vouchers worth €50 each, to use in Deutsche Post Online Shop

The more postcards you send, the more you contribute, boosting your chances to snag a voucher for Deutsche Post’s goodies. In March 2024, Paulo will set his random number generator in motion, and we’ll announce the total number of postcards sent and funds raised for Stiftung Lesen in a blog post. Last year, we raised an astounding €12,359.60!

What if you’re not in Germany? You’re still a vital part of this campaign! Simply register the postcards landing in your mailbox promptly. As waves of postcards from Germany journey across the globe, your quick registration helps the sender mail another card sooner.

Stiftung Lesen, a German non-profit, is dedicated to improving literacy, focusing on children, adolescents, and assisting refugee families in learning German. These fundamental skills are often taken for granted, but they can be transformative for those who struggle with them. We’re proud to support their invaluable work.

We invite you to join the 11th “Cards for Literacy” campaign, sharing our enthusiasm to make a difference with our postcards!

P.S. – Postcrossing respects your personal information and will not share it with any company without your explicit permission. The full details of this campaign can be read here (German only).

And so, the 10th edition of our Cards for Literacy campaign with Deutsche Post comes to an end, and here we are to let you know how many postcards were sent for this good cause in 2022. Without further ado…

Hurray! A brilliant result, which will help many people improve their reading skills in Germany, and thus improve their outcomes in areas like education, professional success, and integration. Well done to all our enthusiastic German members, and also to all the recipients of these postcards, who welcome them with open arms mailboxes!

Our heartfelt thank you to Deutsche Post, for partnering with the Postcrossing community and making this possible. Being a non-profit organization, funding is super important for Stiftung Lesen to run their various programs, but also to do research into different aspects of literacy! For instance, they’re trying to answer big questions like, how are reading behaviors affected by different media, and whether teenagers read differently than adults. It’s by studying these issues that they’re able to make policy recommendations, that in turn contribute to sustainable social development.

And as always at the end of the campaign, Paulo runs his magical script to randomly choose the recipients of vouchers for the Deutsche Post shop. If you’re in Germany and sent at least one postcard last December, keep an eye on your inbox for a message from Postcrossing soon. You might be one of our winners!